The Beginning of a Beautiful End
by MusicalCharlatan
Summary: An unlikely friendship sprouts between four young elflings in the midst of Greenwood Forest, including the small prince. However, tragedy strikes their abode of happiness, and the friends scatter. But a reunion may be inevitable...
1. Unlikely Friendships

_The Beginning of a Beautiful End_

Chapter One—Unlikely Friendships

Disclaimer- I don't own anything of Tolkien's. There! I said it. Now let's just hope that covers all grounds.

Now, first of all, I believe I shall cover some of the main characters I have in plan for this story. A few of them are literal characters from the book that I have no right to take credit for, and I'm relatively certain ya'll will know who those are. But, at any rate, here they are:

Prince Legolas of Mirkwood (not mine)

Ireth of Dorthonion (mine!)

Alassë Mithrandír (mine!)

Elros Ciryatan (mine!)

King Thranduil of Mirkwood (not mine)

(Note: These are just the generals for right now. I might add a few more on here just to fully update it, because, seriously, I kind of make up this stuff as I go. Don't get me wrong; I know what I'm doing, just…not…entirely. 0o)

The story I'm about to share to you has never been told before. It is the story of five young elflings of varied stations, personalities, and upbringing who, though ridden with conflict and trial, held fast to a friendship that perhaps shall never be bested in the Third Age. Theirs' was a camaraderie that stood straight and tall as an example to all who wished to hold trust and judgment safely in their hands. But, unfortunately, as time has proved, all things are doomed with an end, even for the blessed children of the Valar. So, it is certain that this friendship had its closure, an unjust reward for such a companionship. Yet, a cursed tale is not necessarily a bad tale, but rather…the beginning of a beautiful end.

Ireth 

The first time I met Legolas and the others was, oddly enough, at the Seasons Festival in the Great Hall of Greenwood. My mother, father, and I had been invited in as guests to sit at the royal table, for, you see, my father was the king's favorite carpenter. King Thranduil respected my father immensely, and despite the fact that we were not of royal blood, we were invited anyway. I found this remarkable, wonderful, and disconcerting all at the same time. I was very pleased that my family should be looked upon so deferentially, but I dare say I couldn't have felt more uncomfortable had you sewed a bee into the bottom of my dress. I sat there the entire time looking at my plate, hoping I wasn't offending anybody with rude manners and trying my best to look grand. However, as happens with all elflings, I eventually grew bored and tired, and I didn't care anymore what everyone was thinking about me because they obviously had absolutely no interest whatsoever in me. For over an hour I sat there in my too-big chair listening to idle chat of outside war and increasing orc numbers around Ered Mithrin. Finally, someone seemed to notice me in my state of numbness, and imagine my surprise when I realized it was none other than the king.

I'd but briefly lifted my head when he gave me a fond smile and looked towards my father. "Lord Amras," I saw my father start. It was an honor to be called "lord" by his king; "I do believe your daughter is drifting off into slumber from boredom. Indeed, every elfling at this table seems to be bored to tears. I wonder if we should allow them leave to play in the gardens? It would, no doubt, keep them from dropping-off into sleep like weary humans."

My father smiled, as well as several of the other parents at the table. King Thranduil turned to his left and looked down with love upon his heir, Legolas, who was watching this new change of events with interest. He nodded vigorously in answer to his father's unanswered question, and Legolas quickly pulled back his chair and bowed in formality before apparently waiting for the rest of the elflings at the table. The action was so formal and elegant that each of us felt it would be folly to have stayed. Not to mention, we were all dying to get away from that Hall. Mimicking Legolas' actions, myself and three other young elflings of about my age, quickly (but not rudely) left the Hall. None of us seemed to know where the gardens were, so we followed Legolas meekly. He smiled at all of us, and we at him before he set off in the direction he saw fit.

As we walked I examined my companions as inconspicuously as possible. There was one other girl. A small little blond-haired angel with deep blue eyes, appeared to be the youngest of all. She was roughly about two inches shorter than the rest of us and about as skinny as a twig. She looked over at me and gave me a warm smile. I instantly liked her.

The other boy with us was, what I thought to be, one of the tallest elflings in Greenwood. He was even taller than Legolas who, though slender in frame, was as long and lithe as a sapling branch. His eyes were a pale blue and his hair strikingly blonde, this, of which, he had pulled into a tail behind his head. His features were friendly and delicate, like as though the Valar had spent an extra long amount of time arranging every thing just so. He also gave me an encouraging smile that I returned.

Lastly, of course, there was Legolas. I'd already examined him a few times at the table earlier, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to look him over again. His hair was blonde just like the other boy's however it wasn't as light. His eyes I found to be the most intriguing out of all my new companions'. They were blue, but at times they seemed to switch colors to a most unearthly purple. It had me scratching at my eyes constantly, trying to figure out whether it was just a trick of the light or whether or not they literally switched between colors. You may know that I never actually solved this puzzle, for when I asked Legolas later on he told me something about mixed eye colors or some foolishness like that. I guess I shall never know.

When at last we arrived at the gardens, I was very nearly beaming with joy. Here I was, free of the Hall at last, with four other good company, with trees aplenty to climb to my heart's delight. Scarcely had we took a step into the garden than I scampered quickly into the tallest tree I saw, taking care to not snag my dress or reveal anything I didn't want to. I heard a small chuckle from down below, and I looked down to see the tall boy grinning at me, "Tell me, how do you manage to traverse trees at all in such garments as those?" He pointed to my dress questioningly.

I smiled and plopped myself down contentedly on a sturdy limb, "When you spend more time in trees than you do on solid ground then dresses become of little matter."

I instantly realized that I'd hit a jackpot with my new companions. "You too!" They all seemed to chorus in unison, and I was hard put to stop a giggle in my throat when they all looked at each other in surprise.

The little blonde girl spoke first, "My nana tells me that one day I will surely sprout wings and make a nest in a tree if I continue to reside in trees like I do."

The tall boy from earlier nodded, "Aye, I too have been nagged by my nana for "tree-carousing" as she puts it. One day she actually grabbed my ankle, and yanked me from my favorite elm in order to get me to come home. I landed flat on my head."

Legolas laughed, "May ada did something of the same nature. When I was younger he threatened to cut down all the trees in surrounding Greenwood if I didn't attend more attentively to my studies. I'd never worked harder on my studies in my life."

"That's horrible," I voiced, thinking upon the king's words, "He wasn't being serious, though…was he?"

Legolas shook his head energetically, "No, of course not. My ada is not cruel-hearted, however I was quite naïve at the time and did not think of this."

We all chuckled a little bit at his words. After a few seconds of silence, in which we all seemed to be thinking in, Legolas climbed up into my tree and sat down beside me. The other two followed suit. We all sat there for a while on that branch just watching as the golden sun began to lower into the horizon. "My name is Ireth." I suddenly said.

The others looked at me for a second and then smiled. The little blonde girl gave all of us a slight nod of recognition, "My name is Alassë."

The tall boy, who spoke of getting yanked down from the tree, introduced himself next, "My name is Elros."

Legolas shrugged, "I get the feeling you all know who I am already."

We smiled even wider and nodded to each other, "Aye, prince, we know who you are."

And so it was that our friendship began: sitting in the eaves of an old elm, our backs toward home, and our faces turned towards only one the few dusks that we would know together.


	2. A Pool of Blue Waters

_The Beginning of a Beautiful End_

Chapter Two—A Pool of Blue Waters

YAH! I have been reviewed! And, lo and behold, it wasn't a flame! (**Marks spot in history**) Thank you Elraralia, your review was much appreciated, as you can see. . Well, on with the story.

TWO YEARS LATER

_Legolas _

There are three things one must remember when traveling through trees like a squirrel. Number one: always watch out for rotten branches. The possibility of stepping on one of these limbs is relatively small, but the fall that one experiences is painful enough to make a full grown elf test his foot on each limb before stepping fully onto it. Number two: always gauge distance before leaping from one branch to another. If you don't, you might find yourself in a bad situation without even a rotten limb to support you. Third: Never, ever, ever stick your hand or any other body part inside a hole in a tree.

Elves aren't the only things living in Greenwood.

Sadly, neither I, nor my new friends were giving any thought to these wise rules when we traveled to my favorite swimming spot over the Forest River. Ireth and Elros were up ahead, hopping from limb to limb happily. I was behind them, taking a little bit more time to enjoy my surroundings, unlike my sugar-high friends who had literally eaten two entire pies on their own this morning.

Alassë wasn't with us. Her family was traveling to Lothlorien in order to meet some of their family. We'd all bid her farewell, and made her swear she would report as much as she could about the Lorien elves back to us as possible. Alasse wasn't the first thing on our minds at the moment, however. This morning I'd risen, at the break of dawn no less, to plead to my father to allow me to travel to Elros' home whom I'd discovered, on the night of the Seasons Festival, lived naught but a mile away from the Great Hall. This made sense, for it was becoming increasingly more dangerous to live further away from the Great Hall. Spiders were testing our borders daily, and until this moment, I'd never appreciated their boldness. Ireth and Alasse, of course, lived similarly close. They, in fact, lived even closer than Elros did, and I visited Ireth on the way to Elros' house. She was overjoyed to see me, and her ada and nana didn't seem to mind that we planned to go into the forest to play with Elros. Their only rule was that she go no further into the woods than Elros' house was already located. I found their rule sensible, and of course, agreed heartily. We three didn't have any particular destination in mind, we were just eager to be together after not seeing each other for the past week. Elros and Alasse had been able to see each other, but my father had had me studying vigorously with my teacher, Finwe, that entire last week. Granted, Alasse wasn't with us at the moment, but that couldn't be helped. She'd be back soon enough from Lothlorien, and we could wait.

Elves don't usually make friendships quite as quickly as we did that night at the Seasons Festival. But our case was different, there was something in us that made us each perfect for each other. And now it had been two years since that time in the garden, and in that small space of time (or so elves would think) we'd become best friends. My father especially seemed overjoyed that I'd gained some friends, only because, for a long time I'd been moping about in the palace with little to do. It's difficult for a young elfling prince to find playmates, considering all of them seemed so terrified of me. So, of course, ada was always delighted to allow me time to play with my new companions.

I couldn't have loved him more for his leniency with me.

This was why I felt guilty at the moment. We were going past Forest River today: an action expressly forbidden by all of our parents. But Ireth wanted to see the swimming spot that I'd told her of. I'd only seen it twice when I was a very little elfling. My father had taken me there to tell me something about my mother. He said it was the exact spot that he and she had met at and it was wide and clear blue like glass. I'd loved the spot and often wished to return there, but was always too scared to go. Ireth, however, did not hold my fear within her. I felt bad for disobeying my elders, but I too wished to see this place again just as much as Ireth did.

My musings came to a halt when we suddenly reached Forest River. "Legolas!" Elros called back to me, leaning against an old oak near the river, "You're the one that knows how to cross the river."

I looked at the fast, treacherous currents of the river and the jagged rocks that protruded from its dark blue, frothing waters. This time of the year the river was very fast and dangerous. I felt my growing doubt rise in my throat. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea…

"Ireth, I'm—I'm not sure we should cross. The waters seem particularly treacherous today. One of us might fall in."

"Nonsense!" spluttered Ireth, "Not if this crossing way you spoke of is safe."

I looked towards the large tree that leaned over the river, its branches reaching far over the waters and nearly touching a large rock. Several other rocks protruded next to this one making for an easy passage across the waters. The rocks ended at the eaves of the tree though, and one had to make it through the tree to make the rocks of any good use. "…Alright," I said, making my ways towards the tree, "follow me."

I sprang onto the tree with little effort, and agilely maneuvered myself through the tangle of leaves and branches. I finally reached the limb I wanted; the one situated right over the boulder. Looking back, I saw Elros and Ireth following along the path through the tree that I'd used. I nodded down towards the rock in communication, knowing they wouldn't be able to hear me very well over the roar of the rushing water. Leaping nimbly from my branch I plopped down on top of the rock's smooth surface…a little _too_ smooth. I nearly slipped. Scrabbling to stay atop, I latched my long fingers onto the other side of the rock and dug my feet into it. Using all my strength (which, I must tell you, was not much at that moment) I hauled myself back on top, breathing harshly and turning to look towards my friends who looked white as sheets. I barely heard Ireth shout "are you all right?" over the sound of the water, and I nodded my head in silent reassurance. Giving my heart time to slow down, I nimbly bounded from stone to stone. I was highly relieved when I reached the other side. Once I was standing on firm ground again, I curved to look at my friends' progress. Ireth was already nearing my shore and I marveled at her abilities. Elros was coming up behind but not quite as easily as she. His eyes were wide and scared, and it occurred to me that he was thinking twice about crossing, too. When Elros finally did reach the other side we were all shaking slightly and looking back at the river with mixed emotions. Somehow it looked even more terrifying after you'd already crossed it. Sighing, I turned and continued my way into the forest. Elros and Ireth followed silently.

We traversed the remainder of the journey on the ground this time. There wasn't any chance of anyone tracking us now, and none of us felt much like leaping at the moment. We ended up reaching the pool quicker than I'd figured. We hadn't been walking for over six to seven minutes before it miraculously appeared. It was just as I'd remembered it, too. The waters were indeed crystal clear. Green trees and foliage seemed to bow down all around the medium-sized pool. You could see the bottom plainly, and I felt a sudden itch to submerge myself in the cerulean waters. I noticed quickly that at one end of the pool it seemed to taper into a type of diminutive bay. I rushed to the bay, accompanied by my captivated friends. We'd never been allowed to swim in a place like this, and I could tell they were all thinking the same thing as I. With a loud whoop, Elros threw himself into the water like a stone shot from a slingshot. Seconds later, he resurfaced, spluttering and smiling like a lunatic, "Come on in, Legolas! Come on, Ireth! It's not as cold as I thought it would be."

I exchanged glances with Ireth who shrugged her shoulders resignedly. Screaming like a banshee, Ireth ran towards the water and leaped into the water just like Elros, who laughed when a wave rolled over his head from her impact. Looking about I perceived a great rock that was leaning over the water. I grinned to myself. Climbing to the top of the boulder, I hurled my small frame off its precipice. Elros and Ireth were both covered over in waves, and I resurfaced, laughing just like they were. To this day, I'm not exactly sure just how long we stayed there, splashing each other and laughing till our sides hurt. We didn't notice the steady changing of the weather over the treetops, or the fast moving clouds that began to swirl and darken. Our joy didn't diminish until suddenly, loud as the sound of a million screaming crebain, a thunderclap sounded overhead. Stopping in the midst of our merrymaking, each of us looked overhead in horror as lightning forked across the sky. It was night and a bad storm was coming on. Scrambling out of the pool, we looked up at the sky in dismay. "Some elves we are," I voiced quietly, "we didn't even notice the darkening of the sky. Come! Let us return home before we are stuck midst this storm. Hopefully, our parents will not skin each one of us when we return."

Ireth whimpered. "It was foolish of us to come here. We should have stayed put."

I held back the urge to remind her that _she _was the one who'd so insisted upon coming in the first place. "Well, there's nothing to be done about it now than to just head back."

And so we did, sprinting through the tops of the trees like as though the Dark Lord himself was on our tales. Each of us was beginning to feel panic rising in us as the sky grew darker and darker and the lightning began to become more regular. It suddenly occurred to me that we were doing possibly the worst possible thing to do in a storm. If we kept on in this manner, one of us was likely to get struck by lightning. My sudden revelation was cut short, however, when a loud yelp reached my ears from up ahead.

"Ireth!" Elros and I echoed in unison as we both scrambled down from our trees to get to where she was. A broken limb lay partly under her and she was lying quite still on the hard loam.

"How fare you?" asked Elros kneeling down beside her. His face had turned even more pale than usual. Her answer was somewhere between a growl and a moan. It was then that I noticed the peculiar position of her left leg. It was twisted a most unnatural way under her, and the leggings she was currently wearing were torn badly, several bad scratches running down her thighs. "Ireth, I think you've broken your leg."

"Oh, really?" she said angrily through her clenched teeth, "I didn't realize that." Tears were leaking down her face now, and I grew even more worried. What were we to do? Neither Elros nor I dared move Ireth for fear of hurting her twisted leg. And another thing I'd just recently noticed was the state of our surrounding area. We'd definitely gone further out into the woods than we should have. There was a stronger possibility of meeting spiders out in this area. We hadn't even thought of the possibility of spiders for our own eagerness to reach the pool. We were also probably a good 3 leagues from the Great Hall, which was where all of our healers were. Not to mention, one of us was going to have to cross the Forest River to reach the Great Hall, which, by this point, had to be near flooding and would be angrier than ever. And even if help did arrive from the other side, how on Middle Earth would they transport Ireth back across safely? I suddenly felt ill. Could it get any worse!

The first drops of rain began to fall.

"Elros," I said, looking up from Ireth, "Do you have a knife on your person?"

Elros nodded dumbly and unsheathed a small dagger. I didn't have my weapon on me and neither did Ireth, seemingly. I was glad Elros hadn't been so careless. "Okay, Elros, I need you to run back to the Great Hall. You won our last footrace, after all. I need you to tell my father where we are, and tell him to hurry back to us. I'm afraid of what this storm might do, not to mention the present state of Ireth."

Elros narrowed his eyes defiantly, "Why don't _you _go instead? I don't know the way as well, and I'm sure your father would be more convinced if you came."

"Because we're in spider territory now, Elros, and I've had training as a warrior. You have not." Elros blanched but did not retort. "Ireth can not defend herself right now and I can protect her, and as I've already mentioned, you are presently the faster."

Elros looked slightly reluctant, but I put on a face of grim determination, "Go, now, Elros. I'm telling you as the Prince of Greenwood. Ireth does not have the time for your hesitance. Now, go! And may the Valar protect you."

Quickly, Elros stood and sped through the woods, leaving behind his two best friends who were now alone, wet, and defenseless. I stood there for a bit, staring out into the darkness that Elros had disappeared into, shivering as the frigid rain soaked my tunic and short cloak. Rotating to look at Ireth, I gazed down at her in her injured state and felt more like a heel than before. If I'd done like my elders and my father had said none of this would have happened. The entire journey to the pool had been a pure act of foolishness.

Ireth smiled weakly at me, and she reached out her hand. Taking it, I sat down beside her, took off my cloak, and laid it over her. The rain was drenching her as well, and I was afraid she would catch cold. I knew my wet cloak wouldn't do much, but I was desperate. A few minutes later, I'd managed to pull her over into some relative shade under the trees without hurting her leg, and we both sat there quietly; both left with our own thoughts. I fingered Elros' dagger restlessly, feeling paranoid to the point of breaking. Suddenly Ireth spoke, her voice weak and frail as though it pained her to speak. "I'm sorry, Legolas." I glanced down upon her in surprise and realized she was apologizing for making me and Elros go to the pool.

"Don't be."

"It's my fault."

"No, it's not, Ireth. If I hadn't been so passive in the first place, none of this would've ever happened."

"You're always so quick to blame yourself, Legolas."

I didn't know what to say to this, and after musing over several different responses I finally let it be. Then I heard it: a low hissing and scratching. The spiders had found us…


	3. Lightning Strikes

_The Beginning of a Beautiful End_

Chapter Three—Lightning Strikes

Elraralia—Yes, indeed, these guys are going to get into quite a bit of trouble. **Mischievous grin**

Lamoo—I'm seriously glad you liked the description and dialogue. I spent a lot of time on that, I did. And, no, I do not believe I shall let Legolas be eaten by spiders…I love his character too much to let that happen. And thank you very much for your input!

Coolio02—I assure you I'm jumping on these chapters as quickly as a cat on a mouse. Wow, that was a horribly cliché analogy.

Elven Dragon Rider—Quit! Never! I've only done that, like, twice before and it was because everyone hated the stories, (not to mention, I did, too) and I wasn't getting any good reviews. However, that isn't happening right now, is it? Oh, and like I said to Coolio, I'm hurrying'!

Shadow—**beams** Thank you much!

Brilweth—Hmm, interesting accusation that I must say is wrong. I didn't "steal" anything, unless you call using an Elf Name Generator to translate my and my friends' names into elvish.

Avey—Actually that was a typo on my part **blush** I meant to put four but accidentally put five. Ya'll are just going to have to forget about the brown-haired girl, because I, in my hastiness, completely forgot all about her.

Thank you again to all of my reviewers, and I hope this next chapter is all to your liking.

Legolas

For a few minutes all I could do was sit there and tremble. My fingers clutched Ireth's arm in a vice grip, and she didn't make me let go. In fact, she looked just as terrified as I. We sat there, freezing and petrified in the falling rain, hoping to Eru that we'd imagined the sound of the idle spider. Finally, I made myself release Ireth's arm, and I reached trembling fingers to Elros' dagger. The dagger felt small and pathetic in my hands as I pulled it out and held it before me. Standing up over Ireth protectively, I scanned the area around us looking for any sign of a spider. My heart was pounding like a drum, and it was all I could do to not whimper in fear as I continued to look for the spider. Now, normally elves have very good eyesight, but even elves are hindered in their sight abilities when it's dark, and rain is poring down everywhere.

I couldn't find anything.

But my own instincts told me it was folly to lower the weapon. Something was out there, and it was biding its time, waiting for me to become lazy and sit back down thinking everything was okay. I stood there for a good ten minutes before my wall of doubt and fear began to crumble, however, it quickly rebuilt itself when a young spider, about my own height, but immensely larger, finally grew impatient and hurdled from the trees in front of us with lethal speed. Ireth screeched and I, nearly dropping my dagger, took several steps back towards Ireth before I came close to stepping on her.

I'd never seen a spider from Greenwood before in real life, though I'd seen pictures of them in the books inside our library. They were huge and as hideous as spiders come, with long hirsute legs and bloated bodies that drag the ground if one was laden with a meal. Massive, bulbous eyes, yellow and red like the flames of Mordor, stared at us much too intelligently, analyzing our predicament with a satisfied look. We were trapped. Two small elflings, one injured no less, out in the middle of the woods with nothing and nobody to defend ourselves with, save for a small dagger that looked like it could barely pierce the spider's thick skin. I felt myself near a panic as I gazed upon the repugnant arachnid that snapped its black fangs at us as though to assure us that he meant to use them to end our days. The dagger felt all the more useless in my hand, and I tried to act brave though I felt as feeble as an old woman.

The spider lunged at me and I quickly scuttled sideways to avoid its gnashing teeth. For a moment I feared it would ignore me and turn on Ireth, but it seemed to think she was an unworthy prize, for she was so small. I was taller and had more weight on me, so it seemed the arachnid wanted me first. The spider lunged again, this time trying to lash out at my legs. Ireth called out to me, but I ignored her. A dark fang brushed my leg, and I promptly brought the dagger down on one of the spider's globular eyes. It emitted a fierce shriek and backed up a few steps, weighing me up again it seemed. This little elfling meant to fight back, it did.

Pacing backwards, the spider began to circle me like a vulture over its feed. I felt sick at the sight of its monstrous body, and had to force myself not to think of how horrid the creature was. I had to kill it, and kill it soon. Around me the rain seemed to start to fall all the more and harder. Its drops were like mini missiles on my skull and they pinged off me painfully. The rain seemed to agitate the spider, but it was more than resolute on its decision to cut me down and eat Ireth and I. Thunder sounded overhead, and I suddenly wondered where Elros was and hoped he was nearing the Great Hall by now. I had no time to dwell on this thought though, because it was this moment that the spider chose to dart forward and attack. One stretched leg struck out at me and I dodged, another try and I dodged, on the third however, the spider managed to catch me on the side and throw me a good four feet. I sprawled on my back, wheezing in pain, trying to regain my breath. Panic clutched me when I realized that the spider would take this as his chance. Getting on my hands and knees I began to crawl away from the tree that I was currently under, and finally pulled myself to my feet. The spider had hurried to my place under the tree only to find I was gone. It was now sitting there, hissing in displeasure. Finally making up something in his mind, the spider climbed up the tree rapidly and positioned himself over the small clearing we were in. It was in horror that I realized its plan. It meant to leap upon me from the tree and end this quickly. No sooner had I thought this thought than a fork of lightning, intense and earsplitting, licked down from the sky above and struck the exact tree upon which the spider was situated. I heard several screams in one second: the sound of the dying spider as it was incinerated in fire and electricity, and Ireth's, who was deadly close to that tree. I fell to the ground as the ferocity of the lightning ate up the tree and split it clean in two. It was a good while before I finally trusted my legs enough to stand up and go to Ireth. I wobbled toward my elleth friend, hoping against hope that she was still all right. I felt my heart nearly stop when I saw her with her eyes closed as though in a mortal sleep. I calmed though when I realized she had just gone into shock; probably fallen unconscious from the fear, pain, and the sudden strike of the lightning.

Plopping down beside her I drew her even further against the tree and waited for my heart to calm itself again. I drifted into a hard sleep. A while later I felt hands shaking me awake. Wearily, I opened my eyes (I was indeed very tired, because elves only sleep with their eyes closed when pushed to their limit), and saw Elros looking down on me in concern. "Are you alright, Legolas? What happened?"

I disregarded his questions and instead searched about for my father. Nobody was with him, no healers, nobody. "Elros, did you not get my father and the healers?"

Elros looked poignant. "I tried to cross the river, Legolas. It was very angry, and indeed, it was overflowing, yet I figured I could still cross. But the tree, Legolas, the one we'd used to cross earlier; it was struck-down, a smoldering stump with two cloven halves lying partly in the river. I could do nothing. All we can do now is hope that they send out someone to search for us soon…and somehow manage to cross the river."

My dismay had grown with each word, and as his last sentence fell upon my ears, I was nigh near crying. Elros sat down beside me and sighed. I looked up and saw that it was still nighttime, but thankfully the rain had stopped. The frigid air seemed to have an extra bite to it now though, and I felt myself shivering uncontrollably in my drenched clothing. Elros looked none the better, but thankfully, Ireth was more unaware of her horrible state since she was still sleeping. And with eyes still closed, I might add. I leaned my head back upon the elm I was leaning against and gave a great sigh. Wait…just wait.

TBC

HAHA! My cliffhanger of the century!


	4. An Early Grave

_The Beginning of a Beautiful End_

Chapter Four—An Early Grave

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Avey—Yes, indeed, I am on a high!Holds up Red Bull Wait…not that kind of high?

Lamoo—Hah! I do pride myself on my cliffhangers.rolls neck And thank you, thank you, thank you for the compliment on the spider. I had a lot of trouble trying to explain the creature that was in my mind, and I was worried it wouldn't sound good. But, I'm VERY glad you approver.

Elraralia—Yep, spiders are pretty disgusting. They really gross me out. Actually, pretty much anything with more legs than four at the most grosses me out. .

Well, there's a little different approach to this chapter. I'm not exactly taking it directly from anyone's viewpoint; it just takes place in the palace at Mirkwood. Oh! And, seriously, I need someone to tell me about the time period that Greenwood became known as Mirkwood, because I can't find out. Right now I'm just riding it safe with Greenwood, ya know. So, come on, someone help me out here, please!

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The Palace of Greenwood was in an uproar. Ever since King Thranduil had called to the parents of his son's best friends, the king had been near hysterics. Elros' mother and Ireth's father, in desperation, had gone to the palace asking if he knew about the location of their children. Thranduil had replied that, not only did he not know their children's location; he neither knew the location of his son. Ireth's father, Lord Amras, in all of his calm logic, immediately suggested that they wait it out for a while and see whether the children returned within the hour. When an hour had passed, Lord Amras was paling, Thranduil was screeching at his advisor, and Elros' mother, Lady Merenwen, had fainted at least two times. So it was that Thranduil ordered the immediate dispatch of a search party. Thranduil and the parents decided that they too would join the main party and along with Thranduil's Head Advisor, Aerandir, and Greenwood's most renowned tracker, Lord Gelmir, the group set out from the palace stables in search of the trio of mischievous elflings.

Four hours later, there was still no sign of the elflings, and the spirits of the parents were falling dramatically. Search parties had headed out in every direction but had found nothing. Evidently, any tracks that could have been found had been washed away in the storm, and any tracks that they _would_ have found would probably have been so light they might have passed them up.

The parents each looked ready to weep, for they were all worried to their wits ends. After another hour of searching in futile, the main party of nobles, parents, and warriors headed back to the palace and dismounted outside the stables in order to rest and resume their search in the morning. Thranduil stayed upon his horse, as did the other parents, Gelmir, and Aerandir, who seemed just as worried about Legolas as Thranduil did. Turning on his large bay stallion, Thranduil spoke to those who were still mounted, "I am not abandoning my search just yet. If any wish to come with me, I will welcome their help."

"We are loath to stop as well, my lord," said Amras, "I worry desperately for my daughter."

Lady Merenwen nodded, "Elros is out there somewhere, and I shall not leave him in the woods whilst I still have strength in these legs." After a moment of quiet, Thranduil twisted his head and looked towards Forest River.

"Just this moment I realized something of importance," he looked towards Merenwen, "Our children all love trees, do they not?"

Amras and Merenwen's eyes both grew wide.

"Why did we not think of it before?" whispered Amras to himself.

"My son has never traversed past the places we have already searched except for one place. I brought him to a small lake a few times when he was very very young; it seems to me that he might have gone there with his friends maybe for nothing else except to swim for a while. It is a small chance, but it is the single place I can think of that my son might want to go off to. And I have a slight feeling that if my son went there then the others would have gone with him." Merenwen and Amras nodded silently. They both knew well enough that Legolas was the sort of "ringleader" of the group.

Lord Amras looked thoughtful. After a moment in which he seemed to be contemplating something, he finally spoke, "My lord, where is this lake?"

"Past Forest River."

"Forest River?" Gasped Lady Merenwen, "surely they would not have disobeyed us all so blatantly; Forest River is a good three leagues from here."

"I know," said Thranduil, "That is why I shall throttle Legolas when I find him."

Amras chuckled, "Indeed, I shall do the same to my daughter. Hopefully, Ireth will be so terrified of my fury that she will never disobey me again."

"Do not count on it," Merenwen replied, "I think it is a curse which the Valar has laid upon us. Since we shall live forever we must have an even longer period of time to be tormented by our children. That is one thing I envy of the mortals: their children's short growth period." They all laughed lightly at this, but the laughter was far off and disconnected, as though it was someone else who was mirthful.

"My lord," said Aerandir, turning his horse to look at his king better, "perhaps we should be getting on. It is near dawn now and no doubt the river is in a literal uproar. If we wish to cross then we must first find a shallow area."

"That will not be necessary, Aerandir, I know the exact place my son would use to cross the river, but you are right, we should be on our way."

So the group again set out, this time without their extra horsemen. Thranduil led them by a trail, avoiding the darker part of the woods just in case of spiders. At last they reached the river, just as the sun was just beginning its ascent. Thranduil brought them to the banks and then turned west. They followed the side of the river for about three quarters of a mile before Thranduil stopped abruptly. His face had paled, and he was looking ahead at the river in shock. "What is it, Thranduil?" asked Amras, riding up to the side of his lord.

Thranduil pointed up ahead where a charred tree stump was. Its trunk was split and half of it was still clinging to the stump, half merged in the rushing waters of the river. Gelmir joined them at their side, as did Merenwen and Aerandir. Thranduil's voice was a bit shaky as he spoke, "That is the crossing point."

Indeed, it could have been. Fully intact the tree would have leaned right over some boulders that were situated in the river like steps. The party felt a sudden horror wash over them as they thought of the possibilities that were presented in this picture. Now there were three potentials to the location of the elflings. One: they might still be somewhere around the palace, and they just hadn't been found yet—highly unlikely, two: they'd crossed the river, and before they could return the tree was struck down by the storm, or three: they were killed as they crossed, and their bodies washed away in the river. The last one seemed too horrible to even contemplate, and the party quickly dashed this option from their mind…or, at least, for now.

Finally, Gelmir cleared his throat and spoke out loudly, "Well, we'll just have to cross by a shallow area instead, then. The elflings might still be on the other side, and we must check before we jump to any conclusions." The parents nodded numbly, and they resumed their travel along the river. After they'd traveled another mile, they came upon an area where the water cascaded into a small waterfall and the waters at its bottom were relatively calm. Gelmir judged that the deepest part was near the bottom of the waterfall and it was around nine feet. The rest of it was about five feet deep with only a slight current. Leading the way, Gelmir led the group of anxious and bone-weary elves across the river. The horses had to swim a little and get quite a bit wet, but none of them seemed to mind due to their knowledge of the elves' recent quandary. They also seemed eager to help the small elflings. On the other side, bottom halves wet and muscles sore from riding on a bony back for over 6 hours, the elves decided to play it safe and went back along the river to reach the same spot they'd reached earlier, save this time they were on the other side of the river. When the sight of the burned tree loomed back into view, Thranduil felt his stomach give a jerk as he imagined a fork of lightning striking it in full force with his little son trying to climb from it to the rocks. Internally, he heard the sound of the wails from his son, Ireth, and Elros as they died. It made him sway dangerously on his horse, and Aerandir was quick to steady his lord and communicate some comforting words to him. It was here that Gelmir switched places with Thranduil to allow him to lead the way to the lake. Aerandir came up alongside his king. Gelmir and the others respectfully backed up to allow them privacy to talk.

"You look ready to chomp on nails, Thranduil," said Gelmir, addressing the king informally now that no one could hear them. For, in truth, the two were long time friends and never addressed each other formally while alone.

"I assure you, Aerandir, I do not _chomp_ on anything." Replied Thranduil, not even turning to look at his advisor.

"I do not doubt it, but you do look like you could if you wished. You're as angry-looking as naugrim whose favorite axe has been stolen. Now, typical elves look miserable when one of their family is in danger, especially their only heir, but you, you look like you're ready to devour anyone who should stand in your way."

"Do you have a point in this?" Thranduil sighed out in exasperation.

"I thought I'd just call attention to the fact that you're very resilient in the face of danger."

Thranduil gave Aerandir a blank look that made the advisor chuckle, "You seem at a loss. Very well, I'll explain. Your son has very much the same characteristic as you. He's brave and there's little he will not stand up to. He is also very resourceful and knows a thing or two about Greenwood. In short, he will not act like a complete fool. His knowledge of his surroundings, and his ability to deal with situations is a bit lengthier and more acute than the average elflings'. Now that I've refreshed all of this information in you, I shall ask you this: How much of a chance do you think your son has at survival in a wood that he knows and understands? Do you really think he'd be foolish enough to cross across a river on a tree when lightning was flashing overhead?"

Thranduil considered these questions within him and gave no reply to Aerandir, who it seemed, did not expect an answer. Falling back with the others, Aerandir left his king to muse over the possibilities. It wasn't long after this slight conversation that Gelmir suddenly halted and raised a hand in the air. Thranduil had already stopped and so did not continue. His head was held high, his eyes alert as though he was looking for something that couldn't be seen. There came a sound, drifting upon the air like pollen from a bud, wafting over the breeze, its quiet message dancing about the ears of the party like a tantalizing smell that one could not dismiss. Thranduil's wariness vanished, and he urged his horse forward, but slowly. The sound grew and with it a melody and a voice that rose like mist over a roaring falls.

Silver flow the streams from Celos to Erui 

_In the green field of Lebennin!_

_Tall grows the grass there. In the wind from the Sea_

_The white lilies sway, _

_And the golden bells are shaken of mallos and alfirin_

_In the green fields of Lebennin,_

_In the wind from the Sea!_

Thranduil trembled, and spoke to his company now, "I know that voice." And with little caution, the elven-lord abandoned his fears and rode forward to receive his son.

_Song Reference-- Book 3-Page 156_


	5. Alasse's Return

_The Beginning of a Beautiful End_

Chapter Five—Alasse's Return

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Well, no one answered my question, but I guess that's because ya'll were thinking too much about reviewing at the end that it slipped ya'lls minds…or because no one knew the answer… Anyway, if any of ya'll _do_ know what it is, PLEASE inform me. I'm begging, here.

Elraralia—Hmmm…. boiling would probably be an understatement, but, sadly, I don't allow much of a glance just yet at just how angry the parents are.

Elven Dragon Rider—Thank you! I'd actually thought that was one of my sadder chapters, but everyone seems to think other wise. Good, good! And Thranduil is _VERY _protective of his little elflings.

Avey— Nope. No hobbling for Ireth.

Coolio02—More compliments! **Beams**

HyperSquishy—Again—much trouble, but you only really get to see that with the punishment. WHICH, we _will _see more of!

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_Two Months Later _

_Alasse_

It's really quite funny, I think, to see the difference of people once you've been away from them for a while. Before I'd left, Legolas, Ireth, and Elros were the most boisterous, rowdy, and mischievous elflings I'd ever known. However, upon my return the change was undeniably dramatic. Elves that didn't laugh at stupid jokes, didn't make faces at their elders, or steal food from the kitchens were what I found when I arrived. And I must say, it unnerved me. It TERRIFIED me. What on Middle Earth had happened since my departure? What could have caused them to suddenly turn into such-such…perfect children? My mission had commenced. And I strove to find out what had thrown my friends into their case of too-good-to-be-good states. Whatever it was though, had made my friends shut their mouths up like threatened clams. I couldn't budge a single one of them to throw up their story. I slipped in a good many "So, three months is considered a long period of time to humans. I'll wager you all did a lot of things" and "How did you fare while I was away? No adventures, I hope…"

But nothing was working.

One day, when I turned to Legolas, trying to pry out an answer, he simply broke into song, singing like a strangled orc. When I asked Ireth she actually spun around, yelling behind her shoulder that she'd heard her father calling her. Elros was a bit easier to work on. Several times he looked ready to crack, but every single time either Legolas or Ireth would appear and drag him away before I could get an answer. I was very near strangling myself with all the unanswered questions floating around in my head.

And it wasn't just their unusual behavior that was bothering me so. My mother told me that Ireth had been bed ridden for a month for some time with a bad leg. She'd of course recovered quickly like all elves do, but she'd been in quite a dire state. Also, Legolas had been treated for a large bruise across his stomach where something had hit him fiercely. Not to mention, all of them had been assigned the task of polishing the Greenwood Guard's swords, and fletching their thousands of arrows for the next three months. I wanted to know more than ever what had happened, but each of them seemed to be completely unwilling to tell me. But I didn't give up. Elros was still close to cracking, and I was determined to snap him in half like an egg on a rock. So it was that I decided to stroll out into the stables one day…exactly where Elros was. He was petting his new pony, Galad, whom he'd ridden to the palace that evening. Next to his was my own horse, and across from mine was Ireth's. We'd all decided that the palace was the best place for us to meet weekly (or daily sometimes) and, every chance we got; we came to see Legolas and each other. Elros visibly jumped when he turned and saw me approaching. His mouth contracted a rather unattractive twitch that nearly had me laughing.

"Hi, Alasse," he squeaked. He knew why I was here.

"Hullo, Elros. What are you up to? I think Galad is going to obtain a large dip in his forehead where you've been stroking him; you've been doing so for so long now."

Elros shrugged his shoulders, but I could see the relief that flooded into his face when the subject turned out to be about Galad. "I like being with Galad. He isn't loud or obnoxious, and he doesn't give unwanted words or criticize me in any way. He's just glad I'm here to stroke him and speak to him."

I smiled. "If only other elves were like horses."

"Yes, I agree. We could learn a lot from them, I think."

There was suddenly an awkward silence, and I fidgeted with my skirts nervously, wondering how I would broach the subject. Luckily for me however, Elros did that for me.

"I know why you're here, Alasse." He said, his eyes looking deep into mine, "But I don't think I'm supposed to tell you. They think you'll get ideas or…something. I know you want to know, but I just can't tell you. Can't you understand that?"

"No, I can't. Why is it that my friends, my brothers and sisters, my comrades can't tell me what they did that caused them to be hurt and get 3 full months of punishment. If anything, I should be told, because I feel like I'm unworthy to be told. I'm hurt. I feel like no one trusts me or cares about me anymore." That was entirely a lie, but I knew that soft Elros would feel pity towards me, or at least try and convince me otherwise. He seemed to do both.

"Nay, it is not like that, Alasse. They are just afraid. Of what, I'm not quite sure. They never fully told me what happened, I could only make guesses. I don't think it was too bad. I mean, Ireth just hurt her leg by falling fro—" He stopped and glared at me. "You sure are sneaky, Alasse. I wasn't going to tell anything, but now I've gone and said too much."

"I don't see what's the problem! You yourself said that you didn't see the big deal, so tell me what you know!" I raised my arms in the air, as though holding them out for the answer.

Elros looked at me oddly for a bit, but finally his face softened. "I don't know why not. Ireth and Legolas never did tell me why they didn't want you to know."

I beamed, "You're making a good choice, Elros. Now, tell me, what is this all about?"

He looked around shiftily as though he expected to see Legolas come flying out of one of the stalls at any minute, ready to thwack him with a pitchfork. "Well, see, we all went to this pool that Legolas' parents had met at—"

"Why's that so bad?"

"It was across Forest River."

"Oh."

"And so…"

And he told me, from top to bottom, everything that he knew. How Ireth fell from the tree, and the lightning that struck down the crossing tree, and how they'd stayed there the entire night while search parties were out everywhere. When he finished, I was confused. "Then why did Legolas have that big bruise?"

Elros shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. He never told me. And when I commented on the burnt tree to him, he just told me that it had been a close call. I don't think he told me everything though. I think he's being valiant and not relating everything so that no one will make a big deal out of it or something. I'm not sure."

I nodded, "This reeks of something dangerous. I want to know."

"So do I," said Elros, "but I can't get Legolas to tell me what happened. He seems to think there's some type of danger in me knowing."

"I wonder why…"

We stood there for a while, in silent musing. Both of us trying to figure out just what it was that Ireth and Legolas were keeping from us. "Maybe we should confront them," suggested Elros, but I shook my head.

"You yourself said that they'd never tell us."

"Yeah…"

"How about we go back to where they were? We might find some pieces to our puzzle there."

Elros looked doubtful, "I don't know. It's across the river, and I'm already in huge trouble as it is."

"Look! Do you want to know what happened or not?"

Elros turned his eyes to the ground and sighed, "Yes."

I grinned triumphantly. Finally things were going my way. "Then it's settled! We'll go back there next week, after the Seasons Festival for this year. Autumn is just now coming around the bend, and no one will notice that we're missing. And we'll be back before the festivities are through with anyway. There's no way we'll be missed." I felt pride swell up in me with my superb arrangement, and Elros nodded in agreement. He had to concede. It was a pretty good plan.

Or at least we both thought it was…

Legolas 

I was worried. Bad worried. Alasse was being too nosy for her own good. And it didn't look like Elros was holding up very well to her prying. I would have told Elros about the spider if I hadn't thought it was a bad idea. But I knew our parents would never allow any of us to go into the woods again if they found out about the spider, and Elros had already proved to be unreliable with secrets. If I told him, he might blurt it out somewhere, or he'd get some stupid notion that I was a hero and needed to be rewarded for my gallantry, or something foolish like that. No. Elros couldn't know, and neither could Alasse.

Ireth wasn't so certain though. "What if—because they don't know about the spider—they go and do something foolish? Hmm? What about that?"

"I don't know, Ireth. But they're far more likely to do something stupid if they _do _know about the spider than if they _don't._"

Ireth crossed her arms and sulked. "I'm not so sure. You seem to think you've got everything figured out, but I think you're underestimating Elros and Alasse. Elros isn't stupid. I don't think he'd do some of the things you seem to think he would."

I stood up from my chair in the corner of the library and took a defensive stance. "I never said that they _were_ stupid. I know Elros isn't dumb, but he's not discerning. And Alasse is not exactly the expert on what to do with information. She's _only_ 89 years old! You do realize that, don't you?"

"Of course I do! I'm not dim!" Ireth plopped down in her chair angrily. Picking up a book from its place on a stand, she began to flip through it absentmindedly. "I'm just afraid. The entire thing was stupid in the first place. I wish you'd never told me about the pool. It's been nothing but an utter nuisance. It got us into a huge pot of trouble, it did, and I feel like a heel for urging you all to go in the first place."

I softened as I saw the guilty expression cross over Ireth's face. "I told you Ireth. You're not entirely to blame. I was just an accessory. I didn't even stop you or Elros. I could have said no, and none of it would have ever happened, but I didn't, and there's nothing we can do about it now. It's all water under the bridge."

Ireth set the book on her lap and sighed, "You're right, of course." She groaned, "Oh! WHY must you always be right!"

I chuckled. "I'm not always right," I paused and rolled my neck to let out some stiff joints, "Just most of the time."

"How humble our prince is!" exclaimed Ireth jokingly, "I must tell the king to get you a very large chair so you can sit above all of us, and possibly regain some of your confidence, for indeed, you are so retiring that you even _walk_ low to the ground."

I made a very un-princely giggle and threw the pillow that was in my chair at her. "That was unfair, Ireth. I wish to the Valar that they had granted only a piece of the wit that they bestowed upon you to me."

Ireth beamed and stretched out in her chair. "Nay. It is not something you are born with, my prince. One must be very skilled to learn such an art as wit. Tis something that comes with wisdom."

"Ah! And humbleness, too, would have something to do with your wit, I would venture?"

"Aye," she turned her blonde head and grinned at me, "humbleness."

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Whew! Sorry that took so long. It's just that I'm in the middle of our play "The Fiddler on the Roof", and I've got a lot to deal with right now. Anyway, I hope ya'll enjoyed this, and WHEN DID GREENWOOD BECOME KNOWN AS MIRKWOOD?


	6. Sudden Sentencing & Alasse's Curiosity

_The Beginning of a Beautiful End_

Chapter Six--Sudden Sentencing and Alasse's Curiosity

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Lamoo—Ah, my glorious reader has returned. I'd sort of wondered where you'd got. Anyway, I'm extremely glad you think my chapters are looking good. And you seem to underestimate Thranduil and the parents. Arrow-fletching is not all they're going to be doing, as will be demonstrated by this chapter.

Butterfly-elf--You are a very glorious being indeed. All that information will come in very handy, and I thank you for it. .

Avey—You're quite right. Ireth will later regret her decision very deeply, but if I told you why then that would give something away wouldn't it? **evil chuckle**

Elven Dragon Rider—Thank you for the answer as well. I'm glad some of you people actually figured this out for me, because I'm pretty hopeless at my Tolkien History. Hmmm…they should have a college course like that: Tolkien 101.

Author Note: VERY sorry this one took so long, but you people have got to understand! I just finished my play, Fiddler on the Roof (we kicked butt by the way), and now I've got exams, portfolio, and a very obnoxious boyfriend to worry about. Oh, and also, my computer has this rather awful habit of randomly restarting itself whenever it pleases. I'm not sure if I told ya'll about that, but I'm saying it again. I was thinking about just delaying this chapter until after the 26th, my last day at school, but I knew you guys would gut me, Elven Dragon Rider especially. Anyway, I'm very proud to present **fanfare** CHAPTER SEVEN—I mean…SIX!

–By the way, I'm using the eights (Look down there) as spacers, because fanfiction is the Devil's favorite child, and it won't accept any symbols for some reason. **Hiss** Note: this is the reason why some words are bolded instead of closed by asterisks.

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_Ireth_

"We're going to do what?" I heard Legolas ask, tilting his head to the side.

Thranduil crossed his arms (For the fifth time, mind you. He'd been at this fold, unfold, fold game for a good long while) and looked down upon his belligerent son, "Log rolling. Our carpenter has graciously accepted my offer of some elfling help for the next 2 days."

I felt myself blanch at the title of carpenter. My father was going to be overseeing our work. The king had to be joking!

But he wasn't.

We'd done something pretty foolish, but I knew that—deep down—if the king had found out about what had actually happened, with the spider and everything, we would have been punished about fifteen times worse. Legolas' rather rudimentary explanation of his bruise had just barely convinced the healers. He'd told them it had been a large backslap from a branch Elros had pulled back and accidentally let loose on him. It had to have been a very BIG branch, but the healers went ahead and believed him. After all, they were just glad to have their prince back, right?

"All you will have to do is move the large logs from the cleared area into the river. I'm actually being quite lenient with you considering what it is that you'd done. Now, you understand the rules, do you not? No back-talking Master Amras, for he is to be your overseer, and you will treat him just like you would me…"Thranduil paused for a second, "Actually, on second thought, you will treat him _better_ than you treat me. Now, understood?"

Legolas nodded his head, but I kept mine still, for he wasn't talking to me. Thranduil did turn to me though. "And you, Ireth?"

"Yes, my Lord." I nodded my head quickly; "I shall treat him even better than I treat you."

Thranduil chuckled slightly at this but didn't say anything more on the matter. "Now, be off with you!"

Legolas and I scampered out of the room quickly, leaving a very smug king in our wake. Legolas didn't seem very happy though, "I don't like this one bit. Ada has a way of making punishments worse than they actually sound."

"Ah, get over it. I'm sure your father doesn't mean to slaughter us with labor. However, we _do _need to go unearth Alasse and Elros and find Aerandir, so he can escort us to the clearing."

Legolas nodded his head reluctantly, and we set off looking for Aerandir who usually could be found in the library. Sure enough—he was browsing the ancient volumes in the far back of the library that retold, in disgusting detail, all the events of the First Age. Few elves even went back there anymore (Elros said it was because it made them feel terribly old if they actually lived through it.) But there he was, picking through books as old or older than him. We told him of our errand, and he gladly conceded to taking us to the clearing. Now our only trouble was finding Elros.

_He _was in the kitchens, of all places, with Alasse, stealing food right out from under the nose of the cook. Luckily, Aerandir wasn't with us when we found them and they were able to escape clean. If he had seen Alasse no doubt he would have instantly made her go with us to the clearing. Elros, Legolas, and I found Aerandir who'd gone off to the stables to arrange for mounts. We all took our stout ponies and bid farewell to Alasse who watched us leave from the stable doors. I figured she would go ahead and return to her home now that we'd left. It was until much later, however, that I learned she did not.

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_Alasse_

My plans, unbeknownst to Elros, were not going to commence when the festival came. No indeed, they commenced now. As I watched my friends vanish into the forest, I felt more of my mischievous spirit welling up in me, and a plan began to form. This here was a perfect opportunity to do some reconnoitering. I knew that something had happened in that time that Elros had gone to get help, I just didn't know what. Thankfully, Elros' absence was his motivation for telling me everything he knew in the first place, but it also worked against me. I felt so hopelessly left out. And anybody who knows me would know that I'm terribly incompetent when it comes to dealing with my own curiosity and being left out. I _loathe_ being left out of things. I guess that was the main reason I was so adamant on finding out this entire thing in the first place. I'd been left out, and I didn't like it one bit. Also, if all they did was go to the pond-place, then why on Middle Earth were they so reluctant to tell me about it? There was only one answer: something else happened, and they got into staid trouble; as was evident by this new event, this logrolling thing. I wanted very badly to know what happened. There was the crossing of Forest River, Ireth's fall, the lightning-struck trees, Elros' return, the unsolved injury to Legolas, but nothing else.

Oh, it was so tantalizing! I could just taste the answer to it all! Somewhere…somewhere I would find it.

Shaking my head in vexation, I left the stables and returned to the library. Now, I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for, but most things can be solved in libraries, and I figured that since I had a huge one at my fingertips I might as well use it. Butit wasn't the books that attracted me there…King Thranduil usually spent most of his time in the library; leisurely reading, or just getting away from his normal kingly trials. He was there today, just like always, except that there was an odd person with him: alarge elf that looked like he spent most of his time outdoors. I could easily smell the faint woodsy smell on him that usually comes from riding under the limbs of ancient trees and crouching near to the green-blanketed earth to hear its distant voices. I instantly guessed he was a tracker, and though I'd only come to talk to Thranduil and maybe weasel out some type of explanation, I decided to stay. Now I'll admit it…I eavesdropped, but I'm not ashamed, because I was categorically rewarded for my small efforts.

Thranduil seemed to be in the middle of speaking, and I listened to him attentively. "You're quite sure of what you saw, Gelmir?"

"Aye, my lord. You told me to go back to the exact place and I did. You're instincts were right, something else definitely happened there. I'm not sure if the creature was there while the elflings were, but I couldn't be sure of anything. Most of the rain seemed to have washed all the tracks away, but there was something else present in their area." The tracker, whom I now knew to be Gelmir, didn't seem happy to communicate this knowledge and I sensed more lies from my companions. This proved it, all right. Elros and I had been lied to. But I still didn't know why.

Thranduil shook his head sadly, "I'd so tried to trust them. I couldn't imagine at the time that the situation could be worse."

"I'm sorry, my lord," said Gelmir solemnly, "but they did not tell you the whole truth."

"Of course, you're right. Thank you for your service, Gelmir. If you'll check with Aerandir he will see you are compensated for your efforts."

Gelmir bowed and thanked the king, then left quickly. I wasn't sure how to take in these new happenings. It seemed that all of my assumptions had been confirmed, but I knew that even when the king burrowed the answer out of Legolas and Ireth (and inevitably, he would), I would never find out what had happened. There was no way he'd tell me, not with all of this talk of creatures and such things.

Elros and I were still going to have our little investigation. I wasn't sure what would happen, but I was still going to do it. It wasn't just me that was hurt by this event. Elros was mad too. They'd assumed they couldn't tell us something when we were their best friends. Well, I didn't care about them anymore; I was going to find out with Elros' help, one way or another.

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Wow, this is a really bad chapter, but I had to put something up here to convince you guys I wasn't ditching the story. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, and I'll try to get onto the next chapter quicker than this one, okay.


	7. There's Something On Your Head

_The Beginning of a Beautiful End_

Chapter Seven—There's Something on Your Head

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Elven Dragon Rider—SLASH! **+faints+ **Heavens, no! I'm a pretty firm believer in girl/boy and nothing else. Call me a narrow-minded idiot (it's not like I haven't gotten it before) but no, there will be strictly nothing but male/female pairing in my fanfiction. But I can't tell you the pairings just yet. Sorry, but that would definitely be ruining something. And I must say, I have to agree with you on Alasse's hobbit-like mentality. She's very productive and ambitious (just like you said), and I think—that in the real world—she'd probably be like a business owner or something.

Avey—Weird ending, eh? Well, yeah, I was sort of in a rush. I wasn't particularly worried how it ended; I just wanted to spit something out so you guys would be at least partially pleased.

Lamoo—Ah, Lamoo, it seems that every time I begin to feel disheartened about my fanfiction you raise me to unreachable heights, and I can yet again find inspiration. You're very good about making me feel like I've accomplished something, and I thank you profusely for that. I'm also really glad you like Elros. I happen to think of him as very precious too, he's kind of the more naïve and vulnerable of the entire group, which I've always thought is a cute characteristic on some boys.

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Iell- Sindarin for "daughter"

Naneth/Nana—Sindarin for "mother"

A/N: Okay, there's one thing I'd like to make very clear to all of you, because I'm not sure I really cleared this up, but a lot of this fanfiction is going to be romance related later on. In fact, most of the friendship is what leads to all of the romance later on, and it suddenly becomes a very angst-ridden, hurtful break-up that later leads to love. So, just so everyone knows, most of this _is _going to be about love-like relationships. Sorry to have mislead anyone if that's what I've done, but I thought I should just clear that up, so that no one gets all pissed because they thought it was going to be all about these friends. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm going to elaborate on that much more later on, but in this particular story I'm emphasizing something different.

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_Legolas_

I could have laughed out loud when I saw Ireth struggling so horribly with a particularly large and reluctant log. In fact, I did. She didn't appreciate it very much, but it was just so comical: her pulling with all her might while the log remained firmly in place. We were on the edge of the clearing near Forest River rolling out the larger logs, while Elros was away on the other side helping to cut down some more of the trees. I'd begged and pleaded to be allowed to help him in his much-easier task, but Lord Amras had refused, and inwardly I knew that Lord Amras and my father had conspired to make Ireth's workload and mine harder. I'd been right about my earlier suspicion, too. My father _had_ made this harder than it had sounded. Not only were Ireth and I the only ones rolling logs, but also most of them were covered in some type of sordid yellow sap that left one covered in sticky stuff and smelling absolutely repulsive. Not to mention that there was about a billion small flies that were attracted to the foul juice. They resembled midges, and they acted like them too. Needless to say, Ireth and I were already pretty miserable from itchiness alone, but I must say, this made her little log-maneuvering act all the more funny, because she would try to scratch her arms at the same time that she pulled on the log.

Straightening up and placing a very challenging look on her face, Ireth narrowed her eyes and pointed to the log. "Okay, Prince Legolas Thranduilion, perhaps you could demonstrate your massive muscular upper build and try and move that log from its place to the river…"

I stopped laughing and blinked. Me? That log? Forest River? Hmm…

Putting on my own composed expression, I looked down at the log and then at Ireth who was triumphantly watching my reaction. I would not be made a fool of. Furrowing my brow, I rolled up the long sleeves of my tunic and popped my neck.

"Okay, then, I'll show you," I said taking my place near the log and grabbing onto a branch that was protruding out of it in order to better grasp it. Looking back at Ireth once more in order to show her that I thought this was going to be a piece of cake, I began hauling on the log. It didn't budge. Feeling a bit perturbed, I gazed down at the log and dug my feet in and tried again.

Still no movement…

Grumbling, I wrapped my arms around it, and with a furious grunt that I'm pretty sure made me sound like a wild boar, I once again tried to heave the log backwards and off the ground slightly. Sadly, this rather fervent expression of strength on my part caused me to forget about my feet, and, not five seconds after I started to pull, I fell flat on my posterior with a rather un-princely thud. Ireth burst out into such a raucous laughter that I turned my head to glower at her in aggravation. Standing up, I dusted off the leaves and dirt that had attached itself to my breeches and continued to glare at Ireth as her laughter turned into full-out hilarity. Finally, after she began to turn slightly red, her breathing calmed and she was able to look at me with a straight face.

"'I'll show you' you said," and she chuckled some more.

"Okay, so I can't move the stupid log, who cares? We'll just get one of the other workers to get it. It's not _that_ funny."

Ireth just laughed a bit more, "You've got such the ego, Legolas. To be truthful, I'm laughing more at your bruised self-esteem than your bruised rear."

I gave another harrumph and chose to ignore her last comment. It was then that I noticed something slightly odd, or rather, _heard _something odd: a slight chirping, like the sound of frightened birds. And I wasn't the only one that heard the sound. Lord Amras' dog, Neled, heard the noise and began barking noisily. Rushing over to where we stood, the animal began to sniff about everywhere frantically, as though searching for something terribly important. The dog looked positively mad with excitement, and Ireth and I forgot our conversation as we watched Neled curiously. The dog seemed to find whatever it was he wanted somewhere near the object of our argument: the log. He began to scratch a one particular hole at the top of the log, his black claws trying to dig into the wood.

Neled became even more frantic with his discovery in the log, and looked like he might burst with all of his energy.

"My goodness, Neled," said Ireth, moving towards the log, "What is so wonderful that you've found?"

Walking over next to the dog, Ireth pushed him away (much to his irritation) and looked down into the hole inquisitively. It was at that moment that Neled decided he wanted his spot back and pushed over Ireth in order to shove his nose inside the hole. Nearly cursing, Ireth sat up and was about to say something very mean to Neled when a very small something came tumbling out of the hole. No sooner had the miniature something hit the ground then Neled attacked it ferociously. The frightened lump of black and gray fluttered upwards and made it about five feet before it landed precisely on top of my head. I nearly jumped out of my skin when some tiny, cruel claws came into contact with my scalp and grabbed my hair in a strong vice grip. Trying to avoid to frenetic leaps of Neled, I grabbed the small creature on top of my skull, and as carefully as I could, pried it out of my hair.

Opening my hands I gazed in wonder at a perfectly formed baby bird. Its little claws had wound their way around my fingers and its small fragile body was shaking visibly from the fright it had received. Looking up, I saw Ireth wrathfully trying to ward of Neled who was trying to get the other babies while she tried to rescue them. Leaping on Neled, I pinned the dog to the ground, while still holding the bird safely in my hands.

"Haste, Ireth!" I called out as she quickly gathered up the birds that had fluttered off in mad frenzies to escape Neled. She was having difficulty considering they could almost fly, and they would sit on the ground until just the moment that she would show up and then flap away quickly. Neled's noisy barking also seemed to scare the poor creatures to death, which wasn't helping any. The birds in the clearing were also making quite the racket. They seemed to realize that others of their kind were in peril, and all about the canopy around us they were flapping their wings and shrieking. Finally, Ireth managed to gather up the last of the baby birds and she quickly hurried off towards—I assumed—her father. I let go of Neled and hurried after her. Of course, Neled did too, and I had to make one of the workers grab him before I could continue on.

Lord Amras was at the river with several of his men when I saw Ireth come running down the hill to meet him. I was a few yards behind her, panting to catch up. "Ada! Ada!" Ireth shouted. She sounded quite urgent, and Lord Amras immediately dismissed his other workforce to come to her aid.

I came in right behind Ireth as she was explaining about the babies. Lord Amras looked positively unconcerned as he explained to Ireth that the birds were fine and as long as they could find a place where the parents could find them they would be okay. Ireth didn't seem as convinced, but she reluctantly agreed to go ahead and take them home so her naneth could take care of them. As Ireth began to turn around I hastily scuttled up to Lord Amras, "My Lord, could I please go, too?"

Lord Amras smiled and pointed to Ireth, "Agh, be gone. But I expect both of you to be back before it is time for us to head back."

I nodded, "Of course, Master Amras." And I ran after Ireth.

Ireth's home was a rather odd type of…well, tree house, if you will. Her father had made it so it spanned over three different trees, with the trunks going through where they pleased, and small walkways coming to and from each part of the house. Ireth had proudly told me that it was the only one of its kind in Mirkwood, and I envied her. It was such an extraordinary place, and myself, Ireth, Alasse and Elros always found excuses to go there to play some of our favorite games. Usually Alasse would play some sort of helpless damsel and Elros and I would valiantly come to her rescue, while Ireth (on her own request, too) played the evil man who had stolen Alasse away. Sometimes Elros didn't want to play the hero though, and he'd just be my noble steed. It was always pretty comical when he played that part, but Elros really was strong and he had no trouble in carrying me around, even "galloping" at times.

I smiled happily as I thought of these reminiscences, and was almost unaware that we were coming up on the subject of my thoughts at that moment. The house had been purposely set near Forest River, so that Lord Amras could constantly be close to his family. Quite suddenly, Lady Artanis, Ireth's mother, appeared on the edge of the family's small flet. She stood upon the outer porch, looking down at us in odd concern. "Is something the matter, iell?" she called down.

"Nay, nana. Legolas and I found some baby birds that were abandoned in a log near the river. Ada said to bring them to you. Neled almost ate them."

"Ah, is that it," Lady Artanis replied as though this was a common occurrence, "Then come, bring them up here. We shall find a spot for them."

Climbing the steps that wound around the trunk of one of the trees supporting the house, Ireth and I carried the small birds into the main of the flet and handed them to Artanis. Several times they tried to flutter away, but Ireth managed to snatch them back and hand them to her mother. "My, my," she would say, looking down upon them in motherly concern, "You know, I do believe they are almost grown to the point they could fly. I'd say give them a week more—or even a bit less—they'll be flying. The only problem is: they probably won't live that long if they're without a mother."

Ireth looked highly upset, "Oh, nana, can't we help them some how?"

"Yes," I pleaded, looking up to the much-taller she-elf, "Don't you think _we_ could care for them?"

Artanis shook her head, "Nay, I think not. These little birds' hope is with their mother. But come, do not look downtrodden, there is a possibility we can save them." Leaving us hanging on this unhelpful sentence, Lady Artanis walked off quickly to outside of the flet. Standing on the edge of the porch, she looked about her until she found what she sought. She hurriedly strode over to a tree next to the porch that had the broken edge of a branch protruding over next to the portico. The stump was rotten and straight down the center there was a hollow cavity that looked like the perfect place for a birds' nest. "Here we are," Lady Artanis said to herself, and she turned to us proudly. "Right here. If the parents are still looking for the babies they will find them here, but if they do not come back for their offspring then we can still take care of them."

"Very clever, mother," said Ireth, reflecting on her mother's words, "but suppose that now that we've touched them the parents will want nothing to do with their offspring?"

"I doubt it, iell. Birds are very trusting of elves for the most part; however, if it had been a human they might not have been so easy. But no, I do not think they will abandon the babies, for look! The birds are already in a flurry as it is."

Sure enough, most of the birds around the flet were squawking ceaselessly. I suddenly remembered the birds back at the clearing. "Yes, I think you're right. They do not seem at all unaware of the babies' presence."

So, Lady Artanis quickly settled the tiny creatures into their current home, and Ireth and I returned back to the clearing intent on finishing our workload and finding Elros.

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_Thranduil_

For nearly an hour, all I did was sit in the library thinking to myself and occasionally looking over at the door, waiting for Aerandir to walk in; back from the clearing where'd he'd left my son, Ireth, and Elros. When he finally did, I was abruptly incapable of communicating my situation to him. I couldn't be sure what to say, or how to say it. _Aerandir, my faithful advisor, I think that I have been lied to by my son. _No, somehow that just didn't encompass the dreadful hurt that was throbbing inside of me that comes with being deceived by one you love.

Now, most would think it silly to be so hurt by such a simple act as lying, but lying is not very common with elves. It was looked upon with a certain degree of disgust in my race and rightfully so. The Valar hated it, so it was ordained that we should as well. So, why then, had my son not told me the whole truth? It couldn't be too trivial, for he wouldn't have done it then. But the point was that he did it. And when I finally did manage to tell Aerandir, the elderly elf seemed to understand my pained being. He could see the intermingled hurt, anger, and rage that now subsisted in me. It was one thing for my son to get into serious trouble that could have cost him his life and that of his friends, but _lying_ about it! Oh, that earned him and Ireth _at least_ a good three more weeks of logrolling. I was going to kill that boy when he got back, and I was going to hold Ireth by the ear until I got out every bit of the story. And THEN proper discipline could ensue. Now, Elros…he I wasn't so sure about. Something told me that he wasn't really quite sure of the entire thing himself. I'd probably have to interrogate him a bit more later on, but more than likely he was oblivious to the lie.

Legolas, Ireth, and Elros showed up back home a good four hours after Aerandir returned. I was pleased to see that they visibly sagged from all of the labor they'd been forced to do today, (Elros less so, though; also according to plan) and they looked ready to fall over already. Ireth and Legolas were covered in a nasty-smelling yellow sap that seemed to have dried to their skin and in between their fingers. The smell was quite awful and I was hard put to stop my hand from going up to my nose.

I greeted them at the entrance to the Hall, and I could see how their faces turned from weary to positively wretched upon my entrance. It made me giddy and guilty at the same time, but giddy more than anything. "Ah, you both look so exhausted. You do realize that you have another entire day of this tomorrow." _And more than that, if what I hear from you two displeases me._

It was like I'd hit them with a shovel rather than reminded them of later work. Ireth stumbled on one of her steps coming up, and Legolas' face turned a sickly color of green. Elros didn't look as troubled, but neither did he look happy.

"Legolas, Ireth…" I tugged my head in the direction of my study, "I need to speak with you two."

Legolas and Ireth glanced at each other, then me, and then began to follow me as I walked eerily quiet back to my study. I waited at the door as they passed into the room and closed the door behind them with a finalizing thud. (I was going into quite a bit of dramatics to scare them, and my labors were well rewarded with some pretty petrified looks.)

"So," I placed myself in my chair in the corner and leaned forward to look at them intently, "How was logrolling? I've gone quite easy on you, so I expect no complaints."

There were none.

Both of the elflings looked at me miserably, and in unison replied, "It was fine, my king."

I smiled grimly and stood up to pace the floor in front of them. "Do each of you remember my tracker, Gelmir? He was the one who helped me find you across the river." Legolas and Ireth seemed to search their brains for a moment but they seemed to remember something, because they nodded their heads. "Well, it's funny…a good while ago I had him return to the clearing we found you in, two days after your painful return, and he reported back to me after you both recovered from your injuries. And such strange news he brought, too." I looked at Ireth and Legolas who both had looks of fear plastered on their facades, "Tell me, Legolas, do you have any idea what he might have told me?"

Face pale and flushed, Legolas choked out a reply, "No…ada..."

"Do not lie to me, Legolas!" I reacted fiercely, "You know exactly what he found. Evidence of another creature, a very large and dangerous one, more than likely a spider, was found. Now, tell me again, Legolas, did that giant purple bruise painted on your rib cage really come from the backslap of a tree?"

"No…ada."

"Legolas!" he jumped, eyes clenched as though he wanted to shut out reality. But I wasn't going to feel sorry for him now, "Why did you lie? You could have died! Ireth could have died! Elros could have died! You had nothing to gain or prove by not telling me about the spider! What were you thinking? I've warned you about them thousands of times, and yet somehow you get into a situation with one…What if we'd treated your wounds the wrong way, because we'd thought it was just a branch? Or maybe some of the venom could have gotten on you or Ireth and you didn't even know? There are so many horrible possibilities. Not to mention the fact that we wouldn't have known to protect that area from spiders. Someone else could have gone out there and been killed. It's not a restricted area for full-grown elves."

I sighed and sat down wearily. After a moment I looked back up, this time at Ireth, "And you, Ireth. You should have known better as well. I know I gave you both this lecture earlier, but this lie proves to me that neither of you are responsible enough to go further than Elros' house anymore, not until you're both grown up."

Both of their jaws dropped, and in unison they began to spew out excuses, pleas, and anything else to persuade me otherwise.

"No, ada, please—"

"Please, lord, it really was—"

"Couldn't you—"

No. My mind was made up. They'd done dumb things before, but this, by far, had been the dumbest. I quickly raised my hand to stop their clamoring efforts. "And also—your punishment is prolonged, as well as neither of you are allowed to go to the festival."

That did it for both of them. Legolas just stared at me with unbelieving eyes, and Ireth's face fell to the floor in complete defeat. I felt momentarily guilty, but I had to remind myself that they'd brought this on themselves. Bad actions have consequences. And there was no way I was going to be lenient about this. If I did, I would be holding back from them a most valuable lesson, one that I was quite sure they would need in the future.

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A/N: Hallelujah! I'm finally finished! And I'm **seriously** sorry this one took so long, I swear it wasn't my fault. Fanfiction was having some type of server problem and I couldn't even upload the chapter, and then afterwards I couldn't because I was going to my sister's house in Austin, so I couldn't somehow upload it from her comp. Anyway, I hope I made up for it with a rather long chapter.

MusicalCharlatan

P.S. IT'S SUMMER! MAY GOD BE PRAISED!


	8. Interrogation & a Slice of Despondency

_The Beginning of a Beautiful End_

Chapter Eight—Interrogation and a Slice of Despondency

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A/N: Well, forgive me everyone. I'm terribly sorry I haven't updated in-how many months?-Oh, I don't want to even look. It's just that during summer, inspiration disappeared like a wisp of cloud. I just couldn't write anything presentable. I know that's hardly an excuse, but I'm going to try and make it up to all of ya'll. Okay? Anyway, I'm not going to be surprised if none of my faithful readers show up to read my story again, but I guess I get what I deserve. At any rate, I'm going to try to be seriously dedicated to my chapters now. I promise.

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_Elros_

There are few things in this world that bother me to any real degree, but interrogation is certainly one of them. Especially for something I've no clue about. For instance, when I was little and my big brothers got into trouble, they'd always manage to turn the whole affair upon myself, so that nana would end up questioning _me. _I've bad memories of this type of non-trust, so imagine my horror and unhappiness when I learned that the king would like a "word" with me. Hardly the type of thing a young elfling would like to hear when he's trying to be a good friend by speaking to Legolas while he's confined to his room. I thought I was in trouble for sure.

The situation went like this: I was currently climbing into a tree that looked into Legolas' upper-level room in the cave. He was one of the few elves granted this mercy, for there were few other windows in the entire kingdom. My leg was spanning a great breadth, for I was trying to reach it across to another branch closer to Legolas' window. Legolas, naturally, was watching eagerly from inside while I performed this feat, and, of course, during the climax of my rather awkward and daring exploit a voice sounded behind me nearly making me fall all fifteen feet to the ground.

"You know, I'm not entirely sure you should be up here," I reached the other branch and turned about to see a rather cheeky elf sitting on top of the split in the tree trunk that led off into the other branches, "In the manner of duty, I really should report back to the king that his little son's friend is trying to thwart his well-planned punishment."

I gulped and behind me I heard Legolas quickly pull a drape across the window. I could clearly see the royal insignia upon the opposing elf's breast, and I knew he was a imperial messenger. "Please don't, sir," I squeaked, "the king would have me log-rolling for the rest of my immortal life."

"Oh, dear. Well we can't have that," said the young messenger elf swinging down from the tree acrobatically, "I know all about that horrid log-rolling. My father punished me with that castigation a few times as well, if I recall correctly. And I always do."

Not entirely sure of this elf's intents, I followed him warily and inquired more into this sentencing. "Well, obviously, I can't tell you what I did," he grinned mischievously here, which only made me all the more curious, "but I can say that it was indeed the most wretched of all punishments, and I'd wish it upon no one else."

"Not to mention," he said, looking back up at Legolas' window, whom, might I add was now peering down at us cautiously with only his eyes showing on the side of the frame, "I did something of this exact nature more than once." He looked upon me with another of his smiles that I was beginning to become quite taken with.

"Now, come. I know the king won't be happy if you don't show up at all. Let's get this ordeal over with, shall we?"

I followed the elf as he turned and walked briskly out of the garden, heading for the large green metal gate that led into it. Upon our entrance into the palace, I looked up at the elf and examined him.

Handsome like most elves, he had deeply fair skin and light brown hair, which I was surprised at. That was a trait of most Rivendell elves, not Mirkwood. His eyes were deep brown (also rather unusual) and glimmered with the light of one who is not tethered by worries or a serious heart. Faintly, though, I could see the shadow of a fear somewhere deep in them. It was barely there, though, and I found myself engulfed in the joy that this elf possessed. It was no rare occurrence to find a merry elf, but in this one I could sense something far deeper: a _choice_ to be happy despite all circumstances and tribulations. I instantly resolved to be more like this elf. He had something I knew I wanted. "Tell me, what is your name?" I asked as politely as possible.

Those blissful eyes turned upon me, "My name is Olwe Tinehtele. And, pray tell, what is your name, O Impish One?"

"Elros—Elros Ciryatan."

"I like it; it suits you somehow. I shall have to find out what it means. Probably something along the lines of: "tall tree-climber" or something of that nature."

I couldn't help but giggle slightly. I don't like giggling. It doesn't seem very masculine to me somehow, but it seemed to fit this occasion. I felt that Olwe would not degrade me in any way if I did.

I ventured further into conversation, "So, do you know why it is that I've been summoned?" I questioned hopefully, knowing almost full well what my answer would be.

"The king simply said that he would like a…" he paused and smirked, "a 'word' with you. I dare say, you've gotten yourself into some sort of trouble. It seems to me that that's all you do: trouble, that is."

Inwardly, I was still groaning at having to meet the king for a "word," but at this accusation I became highly defensive. "Hardly," I stated, "it's usually my friends who get _me _into trouble. No doubt, that's what this is all about as well."

I thought of Alasse's suspicions and suddenly felt very ill. I hoped this wasn't about that. I didn't want to know if my friends had lied to me. There was a certain type of betrayal in that thought that I could hardly bear to think of. Olwe looked on my face, and I knew he could see my thoughts as clearly as though they'd been printed on parchment. "You worry of something, but I will not inquire. However, I will say this. Whatever it is that troubles you is only a fraction of the life you've yet to live. The Valar placed us upon this earth with the gift of eternal life, and I would not see you waste any time upon worries. They are of no use to you or anyone else in this kingdom, or the rest of the world, for that matter."

I stared up at the elf and knew that I'd found a very heavy clue to Olwe's constant joy. This was his reasoning. How fortunate was I to hear such wisdom?

I was still pondering this thought that Olwe had thrown at my feet like meat for a ravenous dog when we reached the door to the king's study. I tried to think of an elvish curse word suitable for this occasion. Certainly all the world's most awful things happened in the study of the king of Mirkwood. This was where Legolas and Ireth had been brought to for their untimely demise. (Not to mention, my friends and I had come here before more times than once.) Did I now walk to my own?

Taking a deep breath, I raised my chin and stood straight. "That's the way to do it, Elros. Don't let him see you quiver in your soiled breeches."

I turned and looked at Olwe who was quaking with laughter. If I hadn't been on a time schedule I would have hit him in the jaw right then and there. Turning back around, I grabbed the study handle and pulled it open.   
Trying to ignore the piercing gaze of the Mirkwood King I quickly stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. Thranduil was standing over by one of his many bookcases fingering a particularly old book with two calloused hands. He closed it. I quickly read the spine and then instantly wished that I hadn't. It read, in bold elvish letters: _Torturing Techniques Used by the Orcs in the First Age._

I thought I was going to be sick.

Replacing the book, Thranduil turned to me with a look of finality on his features. "Please, take a seat, Elros." He said, motioning towards an armchair sitting in front of his desk. I quickly obeyed and watched as he sank into the massive chair opposite me and easily imagined it to be the throne of Sauron.

"Tell me, Elros," he slowly intoned, "What all do you know of the incident beyond Forest River."

Oh, so, indeed it _was_ about that. I didn't have anything to worry about though. I was already being punished for my part in the act…right?

"Everything I know, I have told you, my lord."

"Oh, really…" He didn't seem very convinced, "I seem to have forgotten your part of the tale, Elros. Please retell it to me."

I did, and in incremental detail, too, if I might add. I wanted there to be no doubt of my innocence in this tale, and, as I knew Thranduil to be a king of good judgment, I saw no reason why I shouldn't devote every memory I had of the episode into his capable hands. Oh, yes, the same capable hands that had only two minutes earlier been holding a dark book on torture. At any rate, I confirmed over my part of the story, and, despite his efforts to act indifferent to this information, I could tell he didn't seem suspicious of me anymore in the least. It looked like to me that Legolas had gotten himself into some more trouble somehow.

…Somehow…

Oh, great. More thoughts that I didn't want to think of anymore.

My meeting with the king ending quickly enough; he, having decided I was innocent, let me off without much more word save for a quick reminder to leave Legolas and Ireth alone seeing as how they were both being severely punished. Though, for what reason, he gave no explanation.  
I left the study deep in thought, not surprised in the least to see that Olwe was gone. I hoped to see him again. I already felt as though I knew him well. Hopefully, when all this sentencing nonsense was over I'd be able to introduce him to my friends. This sounded like a good idea, and I quickly pattered off to see Legolas.

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A/N: Well, it's short, but I was eager to get this one out as a promise to all of you people. They shall keep coming. Be assured of that. ; ) Oh, and I hope this gives you a clearer sense of Elros' personality.


	9. An EVIIILLLL Plan

_The Beginning of a Beautiful End_

Chapter Nine—An EVIIILLL Plan

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_Ireth_

It's difficult to explain my anguish at being removed from the celebrations of the Seasons Festival. I felt that Thranduil had unduly punished Legolas and I, but, really, there was nothing to be done for it. We were both doomed to misery and we knew it…but we were not resolved to it. After walking out from the study, I was hard put to stop my threatening tears. I looked over at Legolas who seemed ready to weep as well, and watched as he simply plopped down on his knees in the middle of the marble floor with a sound like a wounded dog. "MISERY, THY NAME IS LEGOLAS!" he wailed, obviously not worried about his dignity at the present.

"There's nothing we can do, Legolas."

He lowered his head to the floor with a thud. It suddenly came rocketing back up and he quickly snatched my hand, dragging me in some odd direction. "Come, let us talk elsewhere."

It didn't look like I had much of a choice.

The most secluded part of the kingdom is the dungeons, but neither of us dared go down there. Instead, Legolas hurried to the east gardens, his swift feet making little sound on the hard floor. We reached the gate that led outside and rushed through, ignoring the guards presently stationed there, and rushed past one of the many white fountains heading towards the outer boundaries of the gardens. There were other elves present, but they were much involved in their own conversations and didn't even heed us small elflings that flew by. We finally came to a small clearing that all of us, Legolas, Alasse, Elros, and myself, liked immensely. Hardly anyone came there, and there was a small stream that gurgled straight through the middle; perfect for washing one's feet or just listening to its quiet gurgles.

Together, we sat beside the stream and Legolas began to talk all at once, spewing out a plan that he had to get into the festival without his father's approval. I lowered my eyebrows and said very resolutely, "We _can't_ do anything, Legolas. Your father has made that quite clear."

"Nay, Ireth. We _can_ do something; all you must do is listen to me."

"No. I refuse."

"You're just scared."

"Dead right, I am! Are you even thinking about what you're saying! If we ever got caught—in whatever you are talking about—we might as well just hand ourselves over to Morgoth, because we're both as good as dead!"

"That's why we shall not allow ourselves to be caught," said Legolas, looking very stupid in his self-confidence.

"Legolas…"I narrowed my eyes, and gave him the look I only bestowed on people I was sure were part orc in some way, "Listen to me: _We…will…be…killed._ He will find out. He ALWAYS does."

"Not this time."

_More_ stupid self-confidence.

"I can't believe this," I groaned, settling my face in my hands, "You're mad, a complete and utter fool. There is no way we could possibly escape with anything under your father's nose. We've already been punished ruthlessly; do you really wish to make it worse?"

"No," Legolas stated simply, "I just wish to attend the festival."

I exploded in furious anger. "How! It's not like as though we can just inconspicuously slip into the middle of a throng of palace-dwellers, being merry, and expect to not be observed."

Legolas grinned, a very EVIIIILLLL grin, to reveal snake-like pointed teeth. I could have sworn horns were sprouting from his scalp. "So…we just don't go to the palace…"

"What?" I didn't understand at all. We _always_ went to the celebration at the palace, the only other place to go was…

"No." I scooted back on my hands away from the—what I now knew to be—an utterly insane elf.

"Come on, Ireth. The outskirts are perfectly safe. I know that's where all the palace staff and Guard go. They always come back happy as full forest spiders."

"That's because they're as drunk as a naugrim in a drinking game!"

"Precisely," Legolas stated, with a bad twinkle in his eye.

That was all I needed to know. Legolas wanted to go to the Seasons Festival and while there he wanted to drink so much wine he exploded. But, it was true; somehow this offer was enticing. I'd never be gone to the Seasons Festival on the outskirts. I'd heard rumors though; elves dancing about in the moonlight, drinking to their hearts' delight, and playing this game where ellons chased elleth through the woods, and whichever elleth they caught they went dancing with…or more, if the elleth allowed. I had no wish to really see any of _that_ merry-making, but…the festival itself sounded enjoyable. It would be outside, whereas the Festival at the palace was indoors.

Oh, Elbereth, help me!

Legolas saw my hesitance and attacked with even more gusto. "There is also food as grand as that in the palace, spread on tables piled high. Also…"he snickered here mischievously, "I hear that is where Valandil attends the festival."

I felt myself blanch, and I glowered at Legolas dangerously. "What does _that_ have to do with anything? I bet you only want to go to the festival to see a certain Larien…" I smiled at my comeback; very pleased to see Legolas turn a lovely hue of pink. "I've no time for girls, Ireth," he said quietly.

"Of course, of course," I said, but inside I was thinking about Valandil, that gorgeous brown-haired, green-eyed god of a… 'STOP, IRETH! No more!'

But I could resist no more. "Alright," I said reluctantly, "I will go along with this plan. You had just better make sure that it is not penetrable in any way, shape, or form."

"There shall be no problem, Lady Ireth," he said haughtily. "I always succeed in all of my glorious devices."

I tried very hard not to think of several instances before where he had most definitely _not_ succeeded.

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A/N: Again, quite short. But I've been really pushing myself on these chapters, and this was the best I could come up with in the span of about forty-five minutes. High School cuts into EVERYTHING. Grr.


	10. Quick Author Note

: I know I've been away from this story for quite a while, even after saying that I would continue it, so I thought I should clear something up. The reason I haven't been working on it is because I don't have all my old documents on my new computer and I've no way of transferring all the information currently. I have to get a flash disk from my brother-n-law before I can get all those old chapters and figure out where I'm going with this story. Again, I'm terribly sorry for delaying, but I will try to get back here as soon as possible once I've got all the information and a new chapter is up.

MusicalCharlatan


	11. final AN

:Well, it's done. I'm sorry to tell you dear readers that this story must be discontinued. Aside from losing inspiration, I've lost all the original documents that I'd written for this and I don't know where to go without them. Again, I'm sorry for having to end the story this way, but I cannot in good conscience continue, b/c I know it will be completely un-canon and without a storyline. Please forgive my abrupt departure on this story, but I'm also not one of those people who can work on three different stories at the same time. Lately, I've been spending most of my time on Pictor Ignotus and just recently I began work on another Inuyasha fic that I haven't yet posted. Thank you to those of you who continued to read even up until the end of my chapters. I really appreciate all the support, even after I hadn't updated in ages. adios, amigos.

MJ


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